


Scared Rabbits

by Dailenna



Series: No Dream of Her Own [2]
Category: Fullmetal Alchemist - All Media Types, Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood & Manga
Genre: Gen, Pre-Canon, recruit
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-21
Updated: 2020-01-21
Packaged: 2021-02-27 15:54:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 588
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22345942
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dailenna/pseuds/Dailenna
Summary: Riza Hawkeye arrives at the East City military complex as a fresh recruit.
Series: No Dream of Her Own [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1608523
Comments: 5
Kudos: 16





	Scared Rabbits

It turned out that the military’s cadet program didn’t require you to bring your own gun.

“Woah, recruit, hold right there!”

Outside the gates of Eastern’s military training facility, Riza Hawkeye froze, unsure of what she could already have done wrong. One of the men – a Corporal – came out of the security booth, marching up close to her.

“What do you call that?” he barked, in the same sharp tone that he’d used from his booth.

Riza balked at the proximity of his indignation. “What do I call what, sir?” Her hands tightened – one around the small travel case that contained the essentials and toiletries she’d been told to bring, the other around the strap of the rifle slung over her shoulder.

Both of his eyebrows rose. “That hunk of junk you’re carrying, recruit. What’s that good for – huntin’ rabbits? We don’t hunt no rabbits in the military.”

The rifle felt very heavy all of a sudden. Riza didn’t know what sort of gun it was. She knew the ammunition type, and she knew that for the last five years it had been cheaper to buy bullets than it was to buy meat. It definitely needed more care than she’d given it, but she’d done the best she could despite her ignorance.

“Are you gonna answer, recruit?” the Corporal asked.

“I … don’t know, sir,” Riza said.

“I bet there’s a whole lot you don’t know,” he scoffed. “You’re going to have to surrender your arms to Private Faraday, there. The military doesn’t run on last-rate firearms. Go on, now, recruit.”

Riza set down her travel case and approached the security booth, carefully unslinging the rifle and passing it over to the young Private. He wordlessly took it and set it in a locker alongside a few other firearms, which Riza hoped were similarly confiscated from other recruits arriving this morning. If she wasn’t the only one, then she didn’t have to feel half so stupid.

“Alright, no need to linger,” the Corporal barked.

Riza quickened back to stand before him, in some imitation of what she thought a soldier was meant to do. It wasn’t very different to her usual upright stance, although she felt herself leaning back slightly as she made herself meet his eyes.

“Now, from here you’ll want to go to reception,” he said. His voice was still sharp with that military bark, but the antagonistic bite had faded back. “It’s that building just to the right of the path. Stay on the path – the grass there is for looking pretty, not for shortcuts, you hear?”

“Yes, sir,” Riza said. She picked up her travel case and gave him short bow.

“We salute here, recruit. You’re gonna have to get used to that.”

Riza paused, unsure if she was meant to salute him now. As she considered dropping her bag to try it, he turned away and opened the gate for her. The odd chivalry of a job in security hit her as he held the gate open and she walked through. It would have been the same for a male recruit – the gate needed to be held, specifically because it needed to be closed when the entrant was through – but it seemed a last moment of civilian life, before the civilian was drilled out of her.

The gate was pulled shut behind her, and she made for reception with her heart in her throat.

“Did you see that? Talk about scared rabbits.”

“If she lasts through training, the war will deal with that, sir.”


End file.
